Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Inverted Channels in the Eastern Sahara—Distribution, Formation, and Interpretation to Enable Reconstruction of Paleodrainage Networks

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Palaeohydrology

Part of the book series: Geography of the Physical Environment ((GEOPHY))

Abstract

During the Cenozoic Era, the Egyptian Sahara was the site of fluvial activity in a succession of at least three main drainage systems, including the Gilf System (40–16 Ma ago), the Qena System (24–6 Ma ago), and the Nile (30 Ma ago to present). These systems developed as a response to wet conditions, the dramatic events of tectonic activity in the Red Sea Region and southwestern Egypt, and changes of sea level in the Tethys Sea in Late Eocene time to sea-level rise in Late Pleistocene time. The modern Nile consists of captured components of ancestral Nile segments. Representatives of those Nile ancestors and lost tributaries of the Nile have been buried beneath dune fields and sand seas, or have been eroded by wind deflation to be topographically inverted. In this chapter, we present the distribution of inverted river channels in the Egyptian Sahara , and a description of the mechanisms that led to the development of those features during several periods of time within the Cenozoic Era. Moreover, we offer some stratigraphic and geomorphic interpretations that enable reconstructions paleodrainage networks and paleoclimates during those periods of time. Further study of the geochronology and paleohydrology of these relics is necessary to reconstruct the fluvial and paleoclimatic history of the eastern Sahara .

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aref MAM (2003) Classification and depositional environments of Quaternary pedogenic gypsum crusts (gypcrete) from east of the Fayum Depression, Egypt. Sed Geol 155:87–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0037-0738(02)00162-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Babault J, Loget N, Van Den Driessche J et al (2006) Did the Ebro basin connect to the Mediterranean before the Messinian salinity crisis? Geomorphology 81:155–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.04.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee I, McDonald BC (1975) Nature of esker sedimentation. SEPM 23:132–154

    Google Scholar 

  • Bown TM, Kraus MJ (1988) Geology and palaeoenvironment of the Oligocene Jebel Qatrani Formation and adjacent rocks, Fayum Province, Egypt. US Geol Surv Prof Pap 1452:1–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Bristow CS, Drake N, Armitage S (2009) Deflation in the dustiest place on Earth: the Bodélé Depression, Chad. Geomorphology 105:50–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brookes IA (2003) Palaeofluvial estimates from exhumed meander scrolls, Taref formation (Turonian), Dakhla Region, western desert, Egypt. Cretac Res 24:97–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burr DM, Williams RMS, Wendell KD et al (2010) Inverted fluvial features in the Aeolis/Zephyria Plana region, Mars: formation mechanism and initial paleodischarge estimates. J Geophys Res Planets. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009je003496

  • Butzer KW, Hansen CL (1968) Desert and river in Nubia. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison

    Google Scholar 

  • Cuevas M, Cabera JL, Marcuello L et al (2010) Exhumed channel sandstone networks within fluvial fan deposits from the Oligo-Miocene Caspe Formation, south-east Ebro Basin (north-east Spain). Sedimentology 57:162–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis JM, Balme M, Grindrod PM et al (2016) Extensive Noachian fluvial systems in Arabia Terra: implications for early Martian climate. Geology. https://doi.org/10.1130/g38247.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Embabi NS (2004) The geomorphology of Egypt. Landforms and evolution, vol 1. The Nile Valley and the Western Desert. Egyptian Geographical Society, Cairo

    Google Scholar 

  • Embabi N (2018) Landscapes and landforms of Egypt. Springer, Zug

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fawdon P, Gupta S, Davis J et al (2018) Hypanis Valles delta: the last high stand of an ocean on early Mars? Earth Planet Sci Lett 500:225–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.07.040

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fielding L, Najman Y, Millar I et al (2018) The initiation and evolution of the River Nile. Earth Planet Sci Lett 489:166–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foix N, Allard JO, Paredes JM et al (2012) Fluvial styles, palaeohydrology and modern analogues of an exhumed, Cretaceous fluvial system: Cerro Barcino Formation, Cañadón Asfalto Basin, Argentina. Cretac Res 34:298–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foucault A, Stanley DJ (1989) Late Quaternary paleoclimatic oscillations in East Africa recorded by heavy minerals in the Nile delta. Nature 339:44–46. https://doi.org/10.1038/339044a0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghoneim E, El-Baz F (2007) The application of radar topographic data to mapping of a mega-paleodrainage in the Eastern Sahara. J Arid Environ 69:658–675

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghoneim E, El-Baz F (2008) Mapping water basins in the eastern Sahara by SRTM data. In: IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 6–11 July, Boston, pp 1–4

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghoneim E, Benedetti M, El-Baz F (2012) An integrated remote sensing and GIS analysis of Kufrah Paleoriver, Eastern Sahara. Geomorphology 139–140:242–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giegengack RF (1968) Late Pleistocene history of the Nile Valley in Egyptian Nubia. Dissertation, Yale University

    Google Scholar 

  • Giegengack RF, Zaki AS (2017) Inverted topographic features, now submerged beneath the water of Lake Nasser, document a morphostratigraphic sequence of high-amplitude late-Pleistocene climate oscillation in Egyptian Nubia. J Afr Earth Sc. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2017.06.027

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Girard F, Ghienne JF, Rubino JL (2012) Channelized sandstone bodies (‘cordons’) in the Tassili N’Ajjer (Algeria & Libya): snapshots of a Late Ordovician proglacial outwash plain. Geol Soc London, Spec Publ. https://doi.org/10.1144/sp368.3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goudie A (2005) The drainage of Africa since the Cretaceous. Geomorphology 67:437–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2004.11.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall BL, Hendy CH, Denton GH (2006) Lake-ice conveyor deposits: geomorphology, sedimentology, and importance in reconstructing the glacial history of the Dry Valleys. Geomorphology 75:143–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haynes CV (1980) Geochronology of Wadi Tushka: lost tributary of the Nile. Science 210:68–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hermina M, Klitzsch E, List FK (1989) Stratigraphic lexicon and explanatory notes to the geological map of Egypt, scale 1: 500,000. Conco Inc., Cairo

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann DL, Rogerson M, Spötl C et al (2016) Timing and causes of North African wet phases during the last glacial period and implications for modern human migration. Sci Rep-UK 6:36367. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep36367

  • Holm DA (1960) Desert geomorphology in the Arabian Peninsula. Science 132:1369–1379. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.132.3437.1369

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Issawi B, McCauley JF (1993) The Cenozoic landscape of Egypt and its river systems. Ann Geol Surv Egypt 19:357–384

    Google Scholar 

  • Issawi B, Sallam E (2017) Rejuvenation of dry paleochannels in arid regions in NE Africa: a geological and geomorphological study. Arab J Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2793-z

  • King LC (1942) South African scenery. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh

    Google Scholar 

  • Krijgsman W, Raffi FJH, Wilson DS (1999) Chronology, causes and progression of the Messinian salinity crisis. Nature 400:652–655

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuper R, Kröpelin S (2006) Climate-controlled Holocene occupation in the Sahara: motor of Aftica’s evolution. Science 313:803–807

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Le Conte J (1880) The old river beds of California. Am J Sci 19:176–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Le Conte J (1886) A post-Tertiary elevation of the Sierra Nevada shown by the river beds. Am J Sci 32:167–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leila M, Moscariello A (2019) Seismic stratigraphy and sedimentary facies analysis of the pre- and syn-Messinain salinity crisis sequences, onshore Nile Delta, Egypt: implications for reservoir quality prediction. Mar Pet Geol 101:303–321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maizels J (1990) Raised channels as indicators of palaeohydrologic change-a case study from Oman. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 76:241–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(90)90115-N

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell TA, Issawi B, Vance Haynes C (2010) Evidence for Pleistocene lakes in the Tushka region, south Egypt. Geology 38:1135–1138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCauley J, Breed M, Schaber G et al (1986) Palaeodrainages of the eastern Sahara, the radar rivers revisited (SIR-A/B implications for a Mid-Tertiary Trans-African Drainage System). IEEE Trans Geosci Remote Sens GE 24:624–648

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller RP (1937) Drainage lines in bas-relief. J Geol 45:432–438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Omar GI, Steckler MS (1995) Fission track evidence on the initial rifting of the Red Sea: two pulses, no propagation. Science 270:1341–1344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pain CF, Clarke JDA, Thomas M (2007) Inversion of relief on Mars. Icarus 190(2):478–491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2007.03.017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pain CF, Ollier CD (1995) Inversion of relief—a component of landscape evolution. Geomorphology 12(2):151–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-555X(94)00084-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reeves T (1983) Pliocene channel calcrete and suspenparallel drainage in West Texas and New Mexico. In: Wilson, RCL (ed) Residual deposits-surface related weathering processes and materials. Geol Soc Spec Publ 11:178–183. https://doi.org/10.1144/gsl.sp.1983.011.01.18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes DD (1980) Exhumed topography—a case study of the Stanislaus Table Mountain, California. Reports of Planetary Geology Program 1980, NASA Technical Memorandum 82835:397–399

    Google Scholar 

  • Said R (1981) The geological evolution of the River Nile. Springer, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Said R (1990) The geology of Egypt. Balkema, Rotterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandford KS, Arkell WJ (1929) Paleolithic man and the Nile-Fayum divide: a study of the region during Pliocene and Pleistocene times. Oriental Institute Publications 17, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 1–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang ZT, Lai ZP, Qu JJ (2015) Inverted relief landforms in the Kumtagh Desert of northwestern China: a mechanism to estimate wind erosion rates. Geol J. https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.2739

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams RME (2007) Global spatial distribution of raised curvilinear features on Mars. In: Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 38, Houston, Texas, abstract 1821

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams M (2019) The Nile basin: quaternary geology, geomorphology and prehistoric environments. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316831885

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Williams RME, Chidsey TC, Eby DE (2007) Exhumed paleochannels in central Utah—analogs for raised curvilinear features on Mars. In: Willis GC, Hylland MD, Clark DL et al (eds) Central Utah—diverse geology of a dynamic landscape. Utah Geol Assoc Publ 36:220–235

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams RME, Irwin RP, Zimbelman JR (2009) Evaluation of paleohydrologic models for terrestrial inverted channels: implications for application to martian sinuous ridges. Geomorphology 107:300–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2008.12.015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams RME, Irwin RP, Zimbelman JR et al (2011) Field guide to exhumed paleochannels near Green River, Utah: terrestrial analogs for sinuous ridges on Mars. In: Garry WB, Bleacher JE (eds) Analogs for planetary exploration. Geol Soc Am Spec Pap 483:483–505. https://doi.org/10.1130/2011.2483(29)

  • Zaki AS (2015) Reconstruction the residuals of the lost drainage systems on the Eocene Plateau of Western Desert of Egypt. 2015 GSA Annual Meeting, Baltimore. https://doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.1.2301.0803

  • Zaki AS (2016) Inverted channels on Earth: analogs for inverted topography on Mars. 47th LPSC 2466#. https://doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.1.2563.2243

  • Zaki AS, Giegengack R (2016) Inverted topography in the southeastern part of the Western Desert of Egypt. J Afr Earth Sc 121:56–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2016.05.020

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaki AS, Pain C, Edgett KE, Giegengack R (2018) Inverted stream channels in the Western Desert of Egypt: synergistic remote, field observations and laboratory analysis on Earth with application to Mars. Icarus 309:105–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Abdallah Zaki gratefully acknowledges the support of the Swiss Confederation excellence fellowships program (fellowship No: 2017.1006). Thanks go to Mathieu Schuster for sharing a lot of information on the paleoclimate of Sahara. The authors are grateful to Kenneth Edgett from Malin Space Science Systems and Sanjeev Gupta from the Imperial College of London for sharing information on the evolution of inversion of relief on Earth and Mars. We also would like to thank Rebecca Williams from the Planetary Science Institute for her comments on some ideas in this chapter. We greatly appreciate the constructive comments and edits suggested by the reviewers and the editor.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Geneva, Rue des Maraîchers 13, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland

    Abdallah S. Zaki & Sébastien Castelltort

  2. Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6316, USA

    Robert Giegengack

Authors
  1. Abdallah S. Zaki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert Giegengack
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sébastien Castelltort
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Abdallah S. Zaki .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    Jürgen Herget

  2. Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padua, Italy

    Alessandro Fontana

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Zaki, A.S., Giegengack, R., Castelltort, S. (2020). Inverted Channels in the Eastern Sahara—Distribution, Formation, and Interpretation to Enable Reconstruction of Paleodrainage Networks. In: Herget, J., Fontana, A. (eds) Palaeohydrology. Geography of the Physical Environment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23315-0_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation